Hello MindLab Rats!
Today let’s talk about stress, and a cool little technique that can be employed to keep those uncomfortable feelings of anxiety or unease at bay.
This is known in some circles as “the spiral technique” or the “energy ball technique,” and it is a great method of quickly “taking the edge off” of an otherwise distressing situation, memory, or reaction you may notice you have from something throughout your day. Once something has “triggered” you, and you can’t quite pin-point the culprit of your anxious or distressing feeling, try the following technique for a quick calm:
First, (please my friends, not while operating machinery) close your eyes and capture in your mind the event or memory; just notice it.
Second, with your eyes (safely) still closed, scan your body from head to toe, noticing any weird or uncomfortable sensations you may be experiencing in connection to the event or memory. It is quite common for anxiety to be felt as tightness/discomfort in the chest, or by way of tight trapezoid muscle or hunched-over shoulders (like a fighting posture). Similarly, emotions of guilt or shame may be found expressed as a “deep” feeling in the stomach or mid-torso. Whatever it is, notice that feeling in your body.
Next, (eyes still closed), picture that feeling as a ball of energy; however that looks to you is fine, there is no wrong answer here. Now, picture that this ball of energy is moving in a spiral or spinning in a circle… notice what direction it is moving in, counter- or counter-clockwise.
Lastly, with your mind, deliberately spin the energy ball in the opposite direction, and notice what you now feel in your body and through your emotions.
And that’s it! Modify that how you’d like, and if it worked for you, make sure to share with your friends and family as a simple way to take that stress-edge off of an uncomfortable situation, or just as a way to bring quick focus to your whole system before hitting the Lab to “pay the man!”
More to come from the DCL MindLab. Have a great (and stress-managed) weekend!
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